


Chimera

by reinventtlovee



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Genre: Confessions, F/M, Hospitals, Late Night Conversations, One Shot, Possibly Unrequited Love, Team Rocket - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-21
Updated: 2019-03-21
Packaged: 2019-11-27 04:26:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18189755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reinventtlovee/pseuds/reinventtlovee
Summary: A nurse’s question sends James into a tailspin as he thinks about his feelings for his best friend.





	Chimera

“Do you... have a significant other?”  
  
It was such a simple question. James was at the hospital being treated for burn wounds after a job gone wrong. He had gotten separated from the others after the incident, but decided he needed to prioritize his burns and headed straight to the emergency room. The nurse who was tending to his arm had got to chatting with him, and she was probably just asking him this so she could call an emergency contact. Still, the question was unsettling.  
  
Years ago, people would have asked him this question and he would have grimaced, the idea of Jessiebelle making him not want anything to do with relationships. He had had crushes over the years, but nothing stuck because of how often they travelled. He couldn’t imagine actually “dating” anyone, especially someone who wasn’t...  
  
James realized his answer would have been a flat out “no” until a few weeks ago.  
  
Sure, in the widely understood definition of the term, Jessie was never his “significant other.” She had been his best friend for as long as he could remember, but she was so much more than that. They spent practically everyday together for years, and they were so in sync it was shocking sometimes. Jessie was definitely a significant person in his life, but that phrase was usually used for a romantic partner. That was territory that James was currently treading lightly on.  
  
The switch in his mind had flipped a few weeks ago. Jessie and James were relaxing on a log in front of the fire one night, the summer air warm and breezy. Jessie was describing a dream she had in which she creamed a bunch of “losers” at a Pokemon showcase and achieved her dreams of becoming the Kalos Queen. Her eyes always lit up when she talked about her dreams like this, and James found it inspiring.  
  
“Even my mom was in the audience, James! It was amazing...”  
  
She had sounded excited at first, but then sighed sadly.  
  
“I wish she could have seen me when I won that Princess Key. I just want to make her proud...”  
  
Her eyes started welling up with tears, and she slowly shifted herself so she was leaning on James’s shoulder. He instinctively wrapped his arms around her, and she let out a deep sigh.  
  
“I’m sorry for crying, I know it’s just a stupid dream, but...”  
  
“It’s not stupid at all,” he told her softly, speaking into her hair at this point. “Your mother would be so proud of you, Jess.”  
  
Jessie sighed. “I am beautiful and insanely talented. But as far as our Team Rocket track record goes...”  
  
“Your mom was apart of Team Rocket too, right? I’m sure she experienced bumps in the road in her career, too. She would be proud of you because you always keep trying.”  
  
Jessie smiled. “Yeah, Mom was so hardworking. When she wanted something, she didn’t stop until she got it.”  
  
James smirked. “Well, that sounds awfully familiar.”  
  
He felt Jessie laugh in his arms, and he was so grateful that he was able to make her smile when she was feeling down.  
  
“I know I’m proud to call you my partner, Jess,” he told her, “And I know Meowth is, too. I wouldn’t wanna work with any of those other losers who call themselves Team Rocket agents.”  
  
“We are so much better than them, aren’t we?” Jessie said. “We have better outfits, we’re better-looking, our plans are more creative...”  
  
“Honestly,” James agreed, “We deserve more credit for our talents.”  
  
“I think my mom felt the same way,” Jessie said. “She was adored by Madame Boss, but even she couldn’t make enough money to live off of. Team Rocket does not make it easy.”  
  
“Who was Madame Boss?”  
  
“The boss’s mom. She and my mom got along fairly well until she disappeared.”  
  
“Woah, the boss’s mom,” James said, trying to imagine her. “I wonder what Team Rocket was like when she was leading it.”  
  
“Oh, I’ve heard some stories.”  
  
As the night continued, the two stayed up talking until there was a lull in conversation.  
  
“I think I’m gonna turn in, Jess,” James told his friend, receiving no reply but a small snore. He sighed as he accepted his role as her pillow for the night and leaned against his sleeping partner to try and get some sleep himself.  
  
When James woke up the next morning, Jessie was still peacefully sleeping on his shoulder. He felt a warm feeling in his chest that he wasn’t positive was there before, and if it was, it had only grown stronger. James gulped as he thought about these feelings that were sure to complicate things, and decided to push them away as much as he possibly could.  
  
At the hospital, James was snapped out of his thoughts by two voices calling his name. He turned to see Jessie and Meowth rushing over to him with matching concerned expressions.  
  
“James, are ya okay?”  
  
“Give me your arm, James.”  
  
James rolled his eyes and held his arm out for Jessie to examine it.  
  
“I’m fine, guys, I just got mildly burned.”  
  
“That’s still getting burned,” Jessie said, the anger clear in her voice. “You have to be more careful. How are we going to get rich and powerful if you keep getting hurt?”  
  
“With my charm and good looks?”  
  
Jessie scoffed, but smiled at him.  
  
“I’m serious, though. We were worried about you.”  
  
She had her hand on his uninjured shoulder, and he could see the nurse smiling at them from the corner of his eye.  
  
“I’ll bounce back. I’ve been burned before.”  
  
Jessie rolled her eyes.  
  
“That’s not the point, James. C’mon, let’s get you out of here.”  
  
She and Meowth helped James get off the hospital bed, and James could still feel the nurse’s gaze. He turned to see her smiling, probably thinking she had had her earlier question answered. James simply shook his head at her, hoping she would get it, but the nurse just raised an eyebrow at him before smirking.  
  
“Would you like a wheelchair, sir? If your girlfriend doesn’t mind pushing, of course...”  
  
James’ jaw dropped. He felt Jessie’s hand tense up on his shoulder, and he saw the nurse’s smile grow wider. He watched an identical grin form on Meowth’s face. James couldn’t believe she had just said that.  
  
“N-no, I’m alright, thank you,” he said distractedly, trying to look at anything but Jessie. She was silent as they walked away from the scheming nurse and down the hallway.  
  
James remained silent as well, unsure of what was going on in Jessie’s head. He expected rage, anger, confusion, or a terrifying combination of all three. She did look a little shocked, but other than that, nothing. James had to say something.  
  
“That was weird, huh? Thinking we were a couple...”  
  
Jessie shrugged. “I guess I shouldn’t be that surprised. I did come in here overly concerned for your wellbeing, and we do live in a world where ‘men and women can’t be friends.’” She sighed, “Also, it’s happened before.”  
  
While initially surprised himself, James thought about all the times they had been mistaken for a couple and how it never bothered him until now. He was jealous of Jessie’s calm and collected reaction to the nurse’s assumption while it only gave him more anxiety.  
  
“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” James said, trying to sound as nonchalant as Jessie did. “That is what happens when you spend 24/7 with a person, whether you’re work partners or what.”  
  
Jessie nodded. “Yeah, I’m not really offended by it. Unless it’s Meowth saying something. That’s infuriating.”  
  
Meowth looked up at them with a smirk.  
  
“Hey, I didn’t say nothin’ about you two.”  
  
“Yeah, but you also didn’t correct the nurse back there, did you?”  
  
“Nah, I was too distracted by the look on Jimmy’s face.”  
  
James was going to defend himself before Jessie also took notice of his distress and frowned. “Wait, are you bothered by it?” She asked him, quickly getting annoyed by the thought of it. “You would be lucky to date me, you know. I’m gorgeous, talented, passionate-“  
  
“Jess, Jess, I know,” he told her, trying to stop her needless tirade, “Of course you’re beautiful and amazing, and I would be the luckiest man in the world to get to date you. I was just worried that you were upset by it.”  
  
Jessie’s face softened as she processed what he just said. James suddenly realized the implications of his words and swallowed, trying to think of an excuse. Meowth cut him off before he could open his mouth, however.  
  
“The luckiest man in the world, huh?”  
  
This just made James more flustered. “Shut up, Meowth. I’m serious.”  
  
Meowth smirked knowingly but then nodded. “Yeah, that doctor fella really missed out. What was wrong with that guy?”  
  
“Honestly,” Jessie said, smiling sadly at the mention of Dr. White, “He could have had it all if he didn’t settle for that twerp neighbor of his.”  
  
Her two friends agreed wholeheartedly as they left the hospital. Thankfully, the heat was off James and his near confession as they made their way back to the campsite. No one brought up what had happened until James was alone with Meowth after Jessie went to sleep.  
  
They were sitting on the log talking about the following day’s exploits before Meowth paused and looked over at his friend with a curious look on his face. “By the way, why’d ya get so worked up over Jess earlier?”  
  
James almost gasped, but quickly stopped himself. “I have no idea what you mean, Meowth.”  
  
Meowth just smiled. “Usually when people mistake you two for a couple, ya don’t get that stressed ‘bout it. This time you were a bundle o’ nerves.”  
  
James tried to think of how to explain it, but then sighed. “I guess I have... a crush, if you will.”  
  
“A crush?” Meowth exclaimed, a little too loudly. James quickly covered the cat’s mouth with his hand.  
  
“Shhh, you’ll wake her up!”  
  
Meowth removed James’s hand before laughing. “Sorry, I knew I suspected somethin’ but it’s still surprisin’ to hear.”  
  
“Yeah, well, it’s surprising to me, too.”  
  
“Guess I shoulda seen it comin’, though.” Meowth said, looking off into the distance with a small smile. “My two favorite people, in love with each otha’.”  
  
James spluttered and almost fell off the log. “W-what?”  
  
“You heard me.”  
  
“She is not,” James said, his thoughts moving a mile a minute. “I definitely would have known by now!”  
  
“Are ya sure, Jimmy?” Meowth said with a smug look on his face. “You’re in love with her an’ she has no idea. I only noticed because I’m so darn observant.”  
  
James sighed. “Well, what do you think I should do?”  
  
Meowth got off the log, making a stride towards their kitchen equipment. “I’ll tell ya what. I’m gonna make a lot of noise with these pans here, an’ that’ll wake up Jess. She’ll come out of her tent an’ you can tell her I dropped somethin’ or whatever. Then you two can talk about... whatever’s on your mind.”  
  
James looked at his Meowth who was smiling at him, waiting for approval of his ingenious plan. He took a deep breath and then nodded, and Meowth laughed.  
  
“It’ll be great, Jimmy, just you wait.”  
  
Meowth grabbed two of the pans off their stovetop and whacked them together, creating a terrible ruckus that awakened not just Jessie but also the sleeping Pokemon in the forest around them. Zubats flew overhead as Jessie came crashing out of her tent to find out what was happening.  
  
“What on earth is going on?” Jessie demanded, looking very sleepy and extremely irritated. “Do you think these good looks happen without my beauty sleep?”  
  
James took another deep breath. _We forgot to consider_ this _, Meowth_ , he said internally to Meowth as the cat had conveniently decided to go for a walk.  
  
“Meowth just dropped a pan, Jess,” he told her. “Care to sit for a moment?”  
  
Jessie’s anger settled only slightly as she looked around at the campsite. “Where is the little furball now? He makes a huge racket and then just runs off?”  
  
James shrugged. “He had some business in the woods, I guess.”  
  
Jessie raised an eyebrow suspiciously before taking a seat next to her partner. She sighed deeply before resting her head on James’s shoulder.  
  
“I’m so sick of sleeping bags, James,” she said. “Even if Meowth didn’t decide to destroy our kitchen at 3 AM, I still wouldn’t have slept well.”  
  
James laughed before taking her hand, rubbing her palm with his thumb reassuringly. “We’ll have a real bed soon, I’m sure. We certainly deserve one.”  
  
He felt Jessie nod against his shoulder. James felt his nerves return as he considered how he would bring his feelings up to her, but thankfully he didn’t have to.  
  
“It really annoyed me when Meowth mentioned Dr. White earlier,” Jessie told her friend, catching him off guard. “The thought of that man and his lack of appreciation for me is just infuriating.”  
  
James smiled, still rubbing circles onto her hand. “I bet he’s just kicking himself everyday over it. I’m sure letting you go is his biggest regret.”  
  
Jessie sighed. “Yeah, it’s his loss.”  
  
James felt the silence weigh heavily in the air as he prepared himself for what he was about to do. He decided that while his words could change everything about their relationship, their friendship was more important than anything else and that she had the right to know what was going on in his head.  
  
He took a deep breath. “Jess, you deserve to be worshipped,” James told her. This made her sit up and look at him, encouraging him to go on. “I’m not lying when I say I’ve always known this, even though my feelings may be...different now,” he gulped, turning away from her momentarily. “You are all the things you say you are and more, and I meant it when I said that anyone who gets to date you is the luckiest person alive.”  
  
James took a breath and looked up at his friend, only trembling slightly. Jessie’s eyes were tearing up a little as she closed the distance between them and hugged him. He felt her bury her face in his neck and mumble something unintelligible before pulling back. Jessie looked at James with a soft smile before kissing him.  
  
James returned the kiss, only completely shocked that this was actually happening. Jessie pulled away from him and stroked the side of his face, and he laughed giddily.  
  
“How... how long have you felt that way?” James asked her breathlessly.  
  
Jessie smiled fondly at him, still dazed from their kiss. “Honestly, I think it was just a few weeks ago... I had fallen asleep on your shoulder one night, and I woke up and realized how perfect it felt.” She sighed happily, playing with one of James’s hands. “I’ve always waited for romance to just show up one day, but I should have realized it already did.”  
  
James laughed again, unable to believe her words. It felt so natural to hold her hands but also kiss her, and he couldn’t comprehend it.  
  
“Care to be the luckiest man alive, James?” Jessie asked him, her eyes sparkling the same way they did when she spoke passionately about something.  
  
He smiled, and then took her hand and kissed it. “I would be honored, Jessie.”

**Author's Note:**

> And there ya have it. The beginning and the title were inspired by The X Files and that woman asking Mulder if he had a significant other and it just throwing him for a loop. I am here for lovable idiots being in love with their amazing partners.


End file.
